President’s Message

In this issue of Pioneer we address the beginnings and growth of both Mormon and gentile businesses in early Utah, including many important contributions by pioneer Jewish settlers. These groups interacted with each other in interesting ways, and found themselves sometimes cooperating as well as competing with each other. The story of early Utah business is mostly about strong-minded individuals, including the LDS Church leaders who were concerned that non-Mormon businesses might overwhelm less well-fi nanced Mormon retailers. But it must be acknowledged that people from many diff erent backgrounds were important to the early development of Salt Lake City and Utah Territory. Among these are the Catholics who had a great infl uence on Utah's commercial development. An impressive example is Thomas Kearns, who arrived in Utah as a 21-year-old penniless Catholic youth seeking his fortune in the developing silver mining industry. Tom Kearns started as a mucker, the worst job possible in the mines. After blasting, the muckers—who were considered expendable—were sent into the grit-fi lled air to start clearing debris. He studied geology at night and learned to read the rock. His determination to get ahead resulted in Kearns and his Catholic partners John Judge and David Keith becoming millionaires from their mining developments in Utah. They generously used their wealth to improve life for all of Utah's citizens by establishing such institutions as Holy Cross Hospital, Judge Memorial School, and St. Anne’s Orphanage, as well as building the Cathedral of the Madeleine. Keith O’Brien’s Department Store, and the Salt Lake Tribune Newspaper were also products of Catholic men and women in Utah. In 1937, Tom Kearn’s widow, Jenny Judge Kearns, donated their spectacular South Temple mansion to the State of Utah for the residence of the Governor. There are many such stories, more than can be covered in a single issue of Pioneer. After working so hard to set a fi rm foundation for the future of Utah, it must have been a real challenge for the Mormon settlers to accept other groups into what they considered to be their refuge in the mountains. But gradually, and not without diffi culty, the gentile outsiders were accepted and became key contributors to the future of Utah. All three of these groups—the Mormons, Catholics, and Jews—had often been rejected and deprived of their rights in the eastern communities of early America. Yet, in Utah Territory, they found a way to co-exist and build a prosperous and cultured capital city that set the standard for the entire territory. All of these amazing people were true Utah pioneers who contributed their best eff orts and learned the principles of tolerance and cooperation. In today’s world, this might be considered a miracle. Many of us are descendants of these pioneers, and all of us, including newcomers, continue to benefi t from the rich legacy they left us. We in the Sons of Utah Pioneers cherish their values and traditions, no matter their religion. They left a great base for us to build on. We honor them. In 1938 Herbert S. Auerbach of the Auerbach’s Department Store family, though not a Mormon, served as President of The Sons of Utah Pioneers at a time in which his wisdom and generosity were sorely needed. Under his leadership the original Pioneer Village was started in Salt Lake City and he donated his personal Joseph Smith collection to the LDS Church Museum on Temple Square. He did much to preserve Utah’s pioneer history and heritage. The members of the “National Association of the Sons of Utah Pioneers” gratefully maintain this association to strengthen connections with all those who are part of our Utah heritage, and endeavor to educate the youth of today and of future generations about our founders’ principles and achievements.

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